Not a Fan: Book Review

I have heard it time and time again:  "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.  That's all there is to it.  Are you ready to make that commitment?"  This question is usually followed by droves of children flocking to the front of the church sanctuary, ready to commit their lives to Christ...some of them for the second or third or fourth time, "just to be sure".  While this is beautiful if their commitments are authentic, I wonder how much harm we are doing by not clearly presenting the sacrificial side of following Christ.

In his book Not a Fan, Kyle Idleman addresses this issue with candor and a plea to the reader to truly examine his or her own life.  He asserts that to truly believe is to follow, and the first seven chapters of his book are devoted to posing questions to determine whether you are a fan (simply an enthusiastic admirer) or a follower of Christ. 

Idleman dedicates the next four chapters of his book to walking the reader through Luke 9:23 and its implications:  "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."  The final three chapters pose the challenge to follow Christ wherever, whenever, and whatever He may call you to.

This book is not one to be read lightly.  It poses so many questions and thoughts that every Christian should think through at some point in their life.  While I do not agree with the author on what it means to be "spirit-filled", this is definitely a book that I would recommend and pass along to others to read.

*This book was given to me for review purposes by Zondervan Publishing, and I do not have to return the book to the publisher. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.